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Apple Mac Pro Is The Productivity Machine Apple Promised

When Apple launched the previous version of the Mac Pro a lot of prospective buyers were excited for the new “trash can” design. However, even though it turned out to be an exciting device for pro-consumers, professionals didn’t like the design or the lack of expandability. Especially since Mac Pro’s originally offered expansion and flexibility.

Apple last year clarified that they were working on a redesigned Mac Pro that would live up to the name, and boy has Apple delivered. The new 2019 Mac Pro offers a pro focused approach towards productivity.

The Mac Pro will have Xeon processors up to 28 cores with 64 PCI lanes that will allow for ample expansion for improved graphics cards, capture cards or fast storage. Users can also use the six lane memory which is expandable up to a whopping 1.5TB.

The new pro includes an option for the Radeon Pro Vega II, and Duo cards which were also debuted with the Mac Pro. Users can utilize the dual MPX Modules for 2 Vega II Duos to achieve 56 Teraflops of Graphics performance and upto 128 GB of Graphics Memory.

But all these specifications are only an added plus to the new design of the Mac Pro which is clearly one of the best cpu case designs for pro usage. While aesthetically pleasing the case is designed with cooling in mind . A fully vented front and three fans at the back mean that air moves through the Mac Pro in a singular direction at all times. The open nature of the machine means users will be able to add Liquid cooling into the mix and that may end up in some improved throttle free performance.

The case design also allows for quick all around access the machined aluminum frame sits on solid pipe frame which while reminding us of the original “cheese grater” Mac Pro, is much more simpler to access and customize.

Apple has not held back with performance and expandability and it is evident that the company wants the professionals, movie makers and pro consumers to accept the Mac Pro back into their workflow. Expansion options will also include thunderbolt 3 ports which will allow for EGPUs and displays including the new 6K Apple Pro Display XDR.

The Mac Pro’s Afterburner is also another feature designed to lure big video creators and movie makers. The programmable ASIC is capable of decoding up to 6.3 billion pixels per second. Which means it can live decode upto three 8K Pro Res streams. This also translates to 12 4K streams, means that production houses won’t have to rely on fast proxy media, eliminating production storage costs.

The Apple Mac Pro is more a legend reborn, almost like a cult classic revamped. Ever since the first Mac Pro was introduced it became a staple for video editors and movie producers. Major motion pictures were created on these machines and that legacy may continue yet again for the foreseeable future.

Needless to say Apple will also allow full customization and professionals are already drooling over their favorite specification builds. The Mac Pro will ship in fall and will be available to customize from Apple’s website. In India the Apple Mac Pro will be available in certain pre-configured builds, but Apple is working on bringing full customization to India, and we might see that soon.

June 4, 2019
Apple Launches The All New Revamped Mac Pro Alongside The Pro Display XDR 6K Monitor

Alongside the launch of the highly-anticipated iOS 13 operating system, Apple finally unveiled the long-promised Mac Pro with a modular design. The company also announced the 32-inch Pro Display XDR 6K monitor. The first look of the Mac Pro can be very clearly attributed to Apple’s classic “Cheese grater” design. Since the trash can design (previously released in 2013) wasn’t previously accepted very warmly by Apple consumers, the company has decided to choose a much more elegant and modern design. The company claims that the Mac Pro is designed to focus on modular computing and ease of expansion.

Apple Mac Pro: Features & Specifications

The Apple Mac Pro runs on the 28 core Intel Xeon processor with 300W of power and state-of-the-art cooling. Apple claims that the cooling system will enable the system to run at maximum power and efficiency. In terms of memory, the Mac Pro supports up to 1.5TB of RAM, which is staggering at the least. Expansion can be done via six-channel memory across 12 DIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Module) slots.

Another highlighting feature of the machine is the presence of eight PCI Express slots. Four out of those eight slots are double-wide, implying that they can house larger expansion cards. Regarding connectivity, the Mac Pro sports 2 USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports and two USB-A ports that are present on the front of the case.

Additionally, Apple also launched the MPX module, which is a custom expansion module. In order to provide the components with more power and connectivity speeds, the MPX utilizes the dedicated Thunderbolt 3 module embedded in the motherboard. It can accommodate two graphics cards and sports a custom Thunderbolt connector to plug into the backbone of the motherboard. It also has its own dedicated heat sink for effective heat management.

In terms of graphics, the MPX module can be kitted with AMD’s Radeon Pro Vega 2 or Radeon Pro Vega 2 Duo cards. This will consequently add a total of 4 GPU chips to the Mac Pro, summing up to around 128GB of High Bandwidth Memory graphics. Alongside the MBX module, Apple will also sell an I/O module that will equip the Mac Pro with two more Thunderbolt 3 ports and two USB-A ports, in addition to the 3.5mm headphone jack. A special feature of the I/O module is the “Afterburner”, which is a dedicated video card for graphics and editing. It uses the FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that enables it to process up to 6 billion pixels a second.

The components of the Mac Pro are powered by a 1400W power supply. Apple claims that the the three large fans present at the front cool the system at the rate of 300 cubic feet per minute. The case can be fitted with optional wheels to enable mobility of the system.

Apple Pro Display XDR

The company also unveiled a 6K monitor at the WWDC, which is named the Pro Display XDR. The 32-inch LCD display has a 6016 x 3384 px Retina HD screen. The monitor has ultra narrow 9mm bezels. The XDR stands for Extreme Dynamic Range. The display supports Apple’s True Tone automatic colour adjustment for ambient lighting.

The display is 40 percent larger than the 5K display present in the iMac. It has a matte variant called Nanotexture and features an anti-reflective coating. The back of the monitor has a similar design to the Mac Pro, which acts as a heatsink. Apple claims that the screen can hit brightness levels of 1600 nits which will assist during the editing of HDR content. It connects to the Mac Pro via a Thunderbolt 3 cable. Moreover, the Pro Stand included with the monitor is extremely modular and functional. The display can be rotated into vertical mode using the Pro Stand.

The Apple Pro Display XDR is priced at US$ 4,999, whereas the Pro Stand will be sold separately for US$ 999.

Apple Mac Pro: Availability And Price

Also Read: LG 88Z9, The World’s First Commercial 8K OLED TV Up For Pre Orders

The Mac Pro will be available in Fall 2019 at a starting price of US$ 5,999 for the most toned down variant. The aforementioned variant will pack an 8-core Intel Xeon CPU, 32GB of RAM, Radeon Pro 580X GPU and 256 gigs of SSD.

June 4, 2019
iOS 13 Launched By Apple, Features Dark Mode, Privacy Upgrades, Performance Boosts

At WWDC 2019, Apple finally launched the highly-anticipated iOS 13 operating system for iPhones. The new update brings a ton of improvements to the Apple ecosystem. It is touted to be the next great release that will bring improvements all across the board for popular iPhones alongside various UI overhauls and apps revamps. Here are some of the major changes that Apple introduced with the all new iOS 13.

Dark Mode

The feature that had been long rumoured and asked for by iPhone users was finally showcased. This has been one of the single most anticipated changes ever occuring on the the iOS. It marks the second major aesthetic change to the UI after iOS 7. The true system-wide dark mode is supported by all Apple apps such as Photos, Calendar and multiple others.

Reminders

Apple has introduced a new update to the Reminder application in iOS 13 at the WWDC 2019. Users can filter their tasks using various filtering options such as “Today”, “Scheduled” and “Flagged”. Additionally, the app has recieved a visual overhaul and will include AI integration, which will automatically suggest users when they would like to be reminded. Users can also tag their contacts and upon opening the respective thread in messages, they will be reminded of the same.

Performance Boost

Similar to the iOS 12 update, the company has designed iOS 13 in order to upgrade the performance statistics of older devices as well as upcoming iPhones. Apple has stated that features such as FaceID will operate 30 percent faster with the new update. Also, applications will open twice as fast on iOS 13 as compared to iOS 12. New updates will also be 60% smaller, while downloads will be 50 percent smaller than the previous OS.

Privacy

Since privacy forms an integral basis of Apple’s ecosystem, the company has introduced a multitude of security features to iOS 13 at the WWDC 2019. For instance, users can decide to grant access to location services “just once”, which will not send their location data every time they use the concerned application. Also, using the “Sign in with Apple” feature, users can log into applications and services using their Face ID and simply create a new account without divulging personal data. Furthermore, users can get new private email addresses made every time they log into a new app using Apple Accounts, which will reduce the amount of spam emails accumulating in users’ inboxes.

Revamped Photo And Video Editing Tools, External Storage

The company has introduced a new editing interface to iOS 13 for photos and videos, which will allow the users to enhance their clicks and snaps in a much detailed scenario. Users can edit vignette, brilliance, shadows, contrast, saturation, white balance, sharpness, highlights, definition, and noise reduction in their images. Videos can now be rotated directly in the new operating system update. The refreshed Photos app UI will ensure that duplicates and clutter-like images will be automatically removed from the storage. Talking of storage, iOS 13 will enable users to directly copy files from SD cards and USB drives to the Files application.

Swiping Keyboard And Memojis

Users familiar with third party keyboards like Swiftkey and Swype will be delighted to know that Apple has finally updated its own stock keyboard with a swiping functionality. Users can simply “glide” through the letters to draft a word and eventually, sentences. Apple calls the new keyboard the “Quick Path” keyboard, and it will help users replace any third party keyboards with the redefined Apple keyboard. Furthermore, Apple also added the option to use Memojis as a profile picture. Apple is also adding more options for customizing Memoji, as well as adding the ability to use Memojis as iMessage stickers in chat.

Availability

Also Read: Microsoft Teases A New Dual-Screen Surface Device

The developer preview of iOS 13 is available to the members of the Apple Developer Program. Noteworthy, a public beta program will be also available to iOS users next month. iOS 13 will be available this Fall as a free software update for iPhone 6s and later iPhones. This rollout is expected to occur at the same time when the company will reportedly announce the next generation of iPhones.

June 4, 2019
Microsoft Teases A New Dual-Screen Surface Device

Sources have uncovered that Microsoft has showcased a new dual-screen Surface device within the company. The device was demonstrated to the team working on the new 2 in 1 with the help of a video reel showcasing the new Microsoft Surface with dual-screen prototype hardware.

Codenamed Centaurus, Microsoft has been hard at work regarding the upcoming dual-screen device for about 2 years now. Microsoft Surface is set to pave the way for a new breed of dual-screen tablet and laptop hybrids with its unique new designs. The company had also had plans for a smaller pocketable Surface variant, code-named Andromeda, that had its development halted for Centaurus. The dual-screen laptop prototype (Centaurus) was first heard of in December 2018 with similarities drawing it closer to Microsoft’s Courier tablet concept.

The Surface team at Microsoft demonstrated the hardware, long before any official announcements, showcasing various dual-screen prototypes for it. Centaurus being openly shown to the employees does point at the possibility of the development stages reaching its final cycles with estimates putting the release by year-end or early 2020.

Microsoft’s Centaurus (latest version of Surface) will also be receiving the Microsoft Windows Lite version, making it one of the first devices to run on the Operating System. Windows Lite is a new slimmed down version of Windows for dual-screen devices and Chromebook competitors. Intel’s new stance on ultrabooks and push towards dual-screened devices with more added functionality and productive uses much like the Lenovo Yoga Book C930 is expected to popularise the idea of a dual display device.

Also Read: Xiaomi To Launch The Redmi K20, K20 Pro In India Within The Next Six Weeks

Microsoft besides the Centaurus has also showcased the fully functional xCloud, the cloud game streaming platform. More details on the online gaming platform will come on E3 2019 on the 8th of June. The company pitches the cloud gaming service, not as a replacement for Xbox consoles but rather a way to resume the games users were playing on any device, with these upcoming light and portable dual-screened devices.

June 3, 2019
LG 88Z9, The World’s First Commercial 8K OLED TV Up For Pre Orders

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019, South Korean technology company LG unveiled the world’s first 8K OLED TV, the LG OLED88Z9. The company has now opened pre-booking of the television in South Korea. Consequently, the television will be retailed in North America and Europe in the third quarter of the year 2019. As of now, the company has not hinted at an India launch yet.

LG OLED88Z9: Features And Specifications

The 8K OLED TV has a resolution of 7680 x 4320 px with a massive 88-inch display. The resolution implies that the screen houses a total of 33 million pixels. Additionally, the TV supports HDR and Dolby Vision formats. In terms. In terms of sharpness, 8K displays are almost 4 times as sharp as 4K screens and have almost 16 times the number of pixels present in FHD+ displays. Noteworthy, not a lot of 8K content is available on the market which can be showcased on LG’s display.

From a different perspective, even 4K content was quite scarce when 4K displays first made its way into the market. With the development of various online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and Prime Video, 8K content can be expected to be pushed out to consumers as well. Moreover, the 2020 Olympics, which will be held in Tokyo will be supposedly broadcasted in 8K resolution. Select video developers roll out custom content in 8K as well, but to be fair, there is not a lot that users can juice out of the LED at the moment.

Also Read: Xiaomi To Launch The Redmi K20, K20 Pro In India Within The Next Six Weeks

Additional features include Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice assistant. Noteworthy, the voice assistant functionality will not be available globally. The LG 8K OLED TV has an inbuilt LG Gen 2 Pro Intelligent processor. Although the price of the TV has not been officially announced yet, it is expected to be quite expensive since there is no other commercially available 8K OLED TV in the market.

June 3, 2019
Xiaomi To Launch The Redmi K20, K20 Pro In India Within The Next Six Weeks

Xiaomi’s subsidiary Redmi launched its latest smartphones, the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro at an event in China on the 28th of May. While the former is a mid-range device, the latter is a flagship offering from the company. Both smartphones offer competitive specifications at a lucrative price tag. It was expected that the company will announce the handsets’ availability in the Indian market; however, no announcement regarding the news followed. Now, a senior Xiaomi executive has announced that both the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro will launch in India within the next six weeks.

Specifications

Mi fans! Here's a KNOCKOUT announcement! ? #RedmiK20 and #RedmiK20Pro are launching in India within 6 months.. ooops, I meant 6 weeks! ??

It's time India experiences the true #FlagshipKiller 2.0! ? RT ? if you are excited about these amazing devices.#Xiaomi ?? #Redmi pic.twitter.com/QN0JxH1osg
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) June 3, 2019

To recall, the Redmi K20 and the K20 Pro are the latest smartphones from the company. The devices have a glass design on the front and back with a metal chassis for reinforcement. They have an attractive gradient coloured design on the back. The handsets have a 6.39 inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 px. To maximise the screen real estate, they both have a pop-up mechanism on top to house the front-facing camera. For biometric security and unlocking the smartphones, the Redmi K20 series has an in display fingerprint scanner along with support for face unlock.

Under the hood, the Redmi K20 is kitted with the 8nm Snapdragon 730 SoC. The chipset is comprised of an Octa-core CPU and the Adreno 618 GPU. The more premium Redmi K20 Pro runs on the flagship grade 7nm Snapdragon 855 SoC which has an Octa-core CPU and the Adreno 640 GPU. In terms of optics, both smartphones have a triple rear camera setup consisting of an f/1.75 aperture equipped 48MP sensor, an f/2.4 aperture equipped 13MP ultra wide angle sensor; and a tertiary f/2.4 aperture equipped 8MP telephoto sensor. For selfies, an f/2.0 aperture equipped 32MP sensor is housed in the pop-up mechanism on top of the handsets.

Both the Redmi K20 and the K20 Pro are powered by a 4,000 mAh battery. However, the former supports 18 W fast charging while the latter supports 27 W fast charging. Both devices run on MIUI 10 which is based on top of the latest Android 9 Pie. The smartphones will be available in three colour variants namely, Blue, Red and Black. For memory and storage, the devices have up to 8GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage.

Pricing & Availability

As mentioned above, the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro will launch in the Indian market within the next six weeks. While the exact date of the announcement is not known yet, it is likely that the smartphones may be launched in the last week of June or first week of July. As far as pricing is concerned, the Redmi K20 is expected to be priced around Rs. 20,000, while the more premium K20 Pro may be priced around Rs. 30,000.

June 3, 2019
New Qualcomm Chips Will Reduce The Prices Of Windows ARM Laptops

As per latest news, Chinese organization Lenovo unveiled a laptop running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx chipset at the Computex 2019 event held in Taiwan. The market is still devoid of ARM-based laptops with Windows 10 or Chrome OS. However, as per the latest reports, Qualcomm is planning to introduce ARM processors from the Snapdragon series in upcoming notebook-cum-tablet series. Furthermore, they will bear a lower price tag than other ARM-based laptops in the market.

A senior executive at Qualcomm revealed that the company will launch new ARM chips designed especially for affordable devices. Doing so will help the company to enter the market segment currently dominated by Chromebooks. Consequently, the American chip manufacturer wants to increase its popularity amongst software providers to boost the number of Qualcomm devices in the market.

In the upcoming months, Qualcomm states that it will launch new platforms that will enable the production of efficient and inexpensive 2-in-1 tablet devices. The company will continue to treat the 8cx as the flagship chipset variant, however, it will also unveil more chipsets for devices in the $300-$800 price range. One such SoC is rumoured to be the Snapdragon 7cx. The hardware-based designs on affordable Snapdragon platforms will be equipped with both Windows and Chrome OS in the future.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Chipset

Also Read: Samsung Launches The Notebook 7 and Notebook 7 Force Laptops With Intel 8th Generation Processors

The Qualcomm Senior Executive further states that it is still highly unlikely that Google will release an official ChromeOS to support applications on ARM-based platforms. On the other hand, Microsoft is already trying to implement platform support for desktop Office applications on Snapdragon processors. Hopefully, Google will follow suit upon finding suitable incentive in ARM-based chipsets. The more affordable, efficient laptops/tablets running on the new chipsets by Qualcomm are expected to be of big help in the education sector.

June 3, 2019
Apple iPhone 2019 Lineup To Have 128GB Base Storage, Leaked Cases Confirm The Smartphone’s Design

Rumours regarding the latest generation of iPhones are countless and varied, however, certain reliable sources have come forward with more concrete information regarding the upcoming devices. The Apple iPhone lineup, in a market where most phones start with either 32GB (budget) or 64GB of storage (mid-range to flagships), is reported to start from 128GB of internal storage. This along with iPhone cases being seen out in the open, confirm renders that have been leaked.

Apple’s long-awaited flagship smartphone and its variants have already been making headlines all across the tech world. The latest iPhone XI is still four months away from being showcased to the entire world, yet half a year prior to the launch event and renders of the smartphone have already surfaced online. The leaks showcase an entirely unique triple camera setup, that has received mixed reception with Apple’s fan base.

Multiple sources had already confirmed the renders of the Apple iPhone XI design with a video being uploaded on YouTube, that had an unboxing of clear cases for the upcoming Apple flagships. The clear cases had cut-outs for the triple camera set-up that was seen prior with slight changes in button placements due to dimensional differences with the iPhone XS, on which the case was tried on for reference in the video. The three prototype cases received in the package may possibly be for the iPhone XI, iPhone XI Max, and iPhone XIR (names not conclusive).

Also Read: Under Display Selfie Camera Technology Showed Off By Oppo And Xiaomi

The Apple iPhone XI will probably have the same screen size as its predecessor iPhone XS that was equipped with a 5.8-inch OLED display. Reports also point towards a 12MP selfie camera, a welcome improvement over the 7MP sensor used in the current generation. Finer details can only ever be discerned when Apple finally unveils the smartphones, but the 128GB of base internal storage is one of the features that may have already been confirmed.

June 3, 2019
Under Display Selfie Camera Technology Showed Off By Oppo And Xiaomi

Innovation regarding smartphone cameras is an ongoing process in the current scenario. Instances from the past include the first pop-up camera, which was introduced in the Vivo Nex in the year 2018. In constant strife to eliminate notches in smartphone displays, brands such as Samsung and ASUS launched the Galaxy A80 and Zenfone 6 respectively, which feature rotating camera systems. However, Chinese brands Oppo and Xiaomi have posted videos that showcase smartphones with under-display selfie cameras in all their glory.

For those seeking the perfect, notchless smartphone screen experience – prepare to be amazed. ?

You are taking a very first look at our under-display selfie camera technology. RT! ? pic.twitter.com/FrqB6RiJaY
— OPPO (@oppo) June 3, 2019

A senior Oppo executive allegedly shared a short video clip of a prototype smartphone sans a notch. When the camera app was launched, the screen displayed a view of the room’s ceiling, whereas no front camera can be spotted in the video. To confirm that the camera being showcased is an under-display module, the VP hovered his finger above the spot where the selfie camera is supposed to be, and as expected, it was visible on the display.

Check this out from our R&D team! @Xiaomi continues to innovate and we have some exciting tech up our sleeves. RT if you love under display camera! #xiaomi pic.twitter.com/4Rlzt9uRAd
— Alvin T (@atytse) June 3, 2019

On the other hand, Xiaomi also posted a video which showcases two smartphones held next to each other. The device on the right features a waterdrop style notch, whereas the one on the left has no notch at all. After the camera application was launched, the user of the device switched to the front camera, which was placed under the display and hence wasn’t visible at all.

As further stated by the Oppo executive, an under-display camera would imply that there will be one less fragile component in the device to worry about. Moreover, there will be no physical wear and tear regarding such a camera module. However, a significant loss in optical quality may be experienced in the early stages of development as stated by the company.

Also Read: LG To Launch An Online Only Budget Smartphone Series In India Soon

Nonetheless, this unveil may be an indication that Oppo’s sister company, Vivo might also be working on a smartphone with an under-display selfie camera. The company previously hinted at such a feature in the Vivo Apex 2019 concept smartphone. Since the smartphone was devoid of any notch and ports, it is expected that the device will be launched with an under-display selfie camera.

June 3, 2019
Samsung Launches The Notebook 7 and Notebook 7 Force Laptops With Intel 8th Generation Processors

Korean electronics giant Samsung has announced new laptops, called the Notebook 7 and Notebook 7 Force on the 3rd of June. The devices are the latest entrant in the company’s Notebook 7 lineup and feature updated specifications and features over their predecessors. While the Notebook 7 Force has been launched in only a 15.6-inch display option, the regular Notebook 7 will be available in two sizes, 13 and 15 inches respectively.

Samsung Notebook 7, 7 Force

The Notebook 7 by Samsung feature metal construction with a design that is reminiscent of Apple’s MacBook lineup. As mentioned above, the devices have been launched with displays measuring 13.3 and 15.6 inches. Irrespective of the display size, its resolution is capped at 1920 x 1080 px. In terms of connectivity, the laptop features a variety of ports, including two USB 3.0 ports, USB Type C port, an HDMI port and a microSD slot. All the devices in the lineup also have a 720p HD webcam with Dual Array Microphones for video calls.

All the devices in the Samsung Notebook 7 lineup run on Intel’s 8th Generation Processors and support up to 16GB LPDDR3 RAM and 512GB NVMe SSD. In terms of graphics, the base variants feature Intel UHD graphics, but there is an option of upgrading to the NVIDIA GeForce MX250 as well. All the variants have fingerprint sensors for Windows Hello authentication and have a backlit keyboard.

The Notebook 7 Force, on the other hand, is a more premium offering in the lineup. It has a similar design to the rest of the Notebook 7 series but is available only in black colour. The laptop also runs on 8th generation Intel Core processors, has a backlit keyboard, and a fingerprint sensor. In terms of graphics, it has the NVIDIA GeForce 1650 GPU for better gaming performance than the rest of the lineup.

Also read: Spotify Tests New ‘Social Listening’ Feature That Lets Users Listen To Music Together

All the devices in the Notebook 7 series will be initially sold in Hong Kong and Korea and later made available in the US and Brazil in late 2019. While the 13.3-inch Notebook 7 is priced at US$ 999(Rs. 69,400), the 15.6 inch will cost US$ 1,099 (Rs. 76,400). The Notebook 7 Force has been priced at US$ 1,499 (Rs. 1,04,100).

June 3, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Flagship Smartphone May Support 45W Fast Charging

Samsung’s long-awaited Note series flagship smartphone has yet again received more rumours and speculations regarding its specifications. Popular handsets receive numerous leaks claiming features that may never surface on the actual product. Only genuine and credible sources are to be taken seriously. A reliable gadget tipster of Samsung products, who goes by the name Ice Universe on Twitter has revealed the upcoming Galaxy Note 10 may support 45W fast charging.

Samsung Galaxy A70

The aforementioned information about the Galaxy Note 10 smartphone from Samsung was revealed by the tipster in a rather cryptic manner. Posting a picture on Twitter of Leonardo Da Vinci with a binary number at the bottom of the image. The code directly translates to the number 45. The previous leaks have revealed that the Galaxy Note 10 has been given a code name “Da Vinci”. The number, with the picture provided, seems to hint at a new fast-charging tech making an appearance on the upcoming Samsung flagship.

pic.twitter.com/8tvkvfvqdD
— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) June 1, 2019

Other rumours and interpretations of the cryptic message have pointed at a variant of the Galaxy Note 10 being powered by a 4500mAh battery. The famous tipster had also revealed other information leading upto this leak, namely, the device retaining physical buttons but skipping on the 3.5mm headphone jack. Reports so far had pointed at the Note 10 removing the physical buttons, including the Bixby button, for some form of pressure sensing and capacitive functions. The rumour also had these pressure sensors be textured on the edge or be a raised bump.

As for the headphone jack, it is not optimistic. pic.twitter.com/BY2FWzK68m
— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) May 31, 2019

Also Read: Spotify Tests New ‘Social Listening’ Feature That Lets Users Listen To Music Together

Ice Universe in his tweet refuted past claims of the removal of physical buttons as being just an initial prototype that did not make it through stress testing. From the multiple reports on the internet, one point towards the screen of the smartphone being a large 6.66-inch AMOLED display panel. Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 may also be equipped with the Exynos 9820 SoC on the phone as previously seen in the Galaxy S10 in some regions while the rest would receive the Snapdragon 855 SoC.

June 3, 2019
Spotify Tests New ‘Social Listening’ Feature That Lets Users Listen To Music Together

The experience of jamming to your favourite tracks by your favourite artist is much more accessible in this day and age than ever before. Gone are the days of having to search for songs on CDs that were sold in malls or local stores. Multiple online music streaming services are now available such as Spotify, that now seek to make listening to great songs a shared and interactive experience. The Swedish music streaming company is reportedly starting to test a new feature by the name of Social Listening that would let multiple users add songs and make playlists in real time. This is a group feature that will allow users to share and listen to new tracks simultaneously. Spotify is supposedly testing this feature internally within its employees, however, no confirmation has been officially given by the company as of yet regarding the public release of the feature.

The leaked information has stated that ‘Social Listening’ lets users control music together with their own devices using the added function of scanning Spotify Codes or by opening links to pair with other users to begin sharing songs. Screenshots that were leaked show the screens of devices ready to be paired by scanning codes or shared links, in an Android version of the application.

Spotify’s only official response to the feature is that the company is always testing new products and experiences, but have no news that can be shared regarding this function. The company prior to this had revealed its tests on new hardware (a first for the Spotify) ‘Car Thing”, a voice-controlled music and podcast player for cars. The test was only limited to the United States, however, Spotify will invite a few selected premium users for the experience too. Again no confirmations on the company actually releasing the device for consumers.

Also Read: WhatsApp Profile Photos Now Can’ Be Saved, New Album Features

The new social feature that allows group-based interactive playlist feature by Spotify that has just been teased would most definitely be a welcome addition to the social functions within its application.

June 3, 2019
LG To Launch An Online Only Budget Smartphone Series In India Soon

In the last few years, the dominance of Chinese smartphone OEMs has increased substantially in the Indian market. Makers like Xiaomi, Realme and Honor have seen exponential growth in sales while established brands like Samsung and LG had lost their grip on the same, at least on the budget side of things. The former tried to redefine itself by launching the online-only Galaxy M series back in the month of January. By providing competitive specifications at a lucrative price tag, the lineup has seen a good reception and has put Samsung back on the radar. Now, the latest reports claim that another Korean giant, LG is looking to do the same; by launching an online exclusive, budget smartphone lineup in India soon.

About the series

As mentioned above, LG is planning to introduce a new series of smartphones in the Indian market. This may be a budget lineup which will only be available to purchase online. Along with the information, images alleged to be of a device in the series have also been shared in the report. These images reveal a handset with a glass finish and gradient colour scheme on the back. The right side of the smartphone has the volume rockers and the power button. Over at the back, a vertically placed triple camera setup along with an LED flash is visible. The rear panel also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner with the LG branding present.

Also read: Top Smartphones Launch In India: June 2019

One of the leaked images of the latest LG smartphone also reveals it will have a FullVision display; which may be an indication that it will have a near edge of to edge display with minimal bezels around it. It is also known that the device will make use of AI in certain areas around the handset; presumably in the UI (User Interface) and the camera application. The reports further claim the series will borrow many features from LG’s flagship series, such as the G and V lineup of smartphones. Unfortunately, more details about the handsets are unknown at the moment. But it is expected that the company may make an announcement regarding them soon.

June 3, 2019
Google Cloud Restored After Outage, Multiple Applications Affected

It seems that Facebook and Instagram are not the only platforms that suffered outages in the year 2019 so far, as Google Cloud services were down as well on June 3, 2019. The outage affected multiple applications such as Gmail and Nest. Furthermore, applications that implement Google Suite including Snap and popular voice-chat platform, Discord were offline as well. First reported by users in the United States, a similar issue was also brought to light by other users across the world.

As per a statement released by the company, the Google Compute Engine was suffering from a multi-region issue that was affecting Google Cloud services. Owing to network congestion in Eastern USA, users were experiencing extremely slow loading times and errors. Moreover, people reported issues with Google Nest that was not allowing them to change the temperature in their homes and apartments.

Reportedly, the issue was resolved a few hours later after its occurrence. Another statement put forward by the company confirmed that Google was conducting an internal investigation of the problem in order to prevent future recurrence of the same. However, concerns were raised regarding the vulnerability of Cloud-based software and applications. Since a multitude of services relies on Google’s Cloud Service, a lot of developers and organizations may start thinking about contingency plans in case an outage occurs again.

Also Read: WhatsApp Profile Photos Now Can’ Be Saved, New Album Features

Even though the cost of hosting applications on a third-party cloud platform is quite low, it basically implies that the entirety of the service is dependant on one platform to function. In such a case, a backup storage or cloud storage can be helpful for the organization. This particular outage experienced by Google may be a wake-up call for network-dependant applications that suffer if the service stops functioning even for a short duration of time.

June 3, 2019
WhatsApp Profile Photos Now Can’ Be Saved, New Album Features

The popular instant messaging platform, WhatsApp, is planning on removing the functionality that allowed users from saving someone else’s profile photo. This change was first noticed in the beta version of the application for iOS devices but now seems to be rolling out for Android users too. The latest update also adds new album features; such as providing more information about the files that need to be downloaded. These changes were spotted by a renowned WhatsApp leaker.

WhatsApp for iOS: What’s New?

The latest update from WhatsApp brings about many changes in the beta version on iOS. As mentioned above, the messaging app has stopped allowing to save someone else profile picture. While it is not confirmed wy this feature was provided in the first place, the removal of it seems to be related to privacy concerns. Apart from this, album improvements have also been added to the beta update. With this, whenever a user receives multiple images in a chat, the app will now tell the total size and number of images to be downloaded. All the aforementioned features were spotted in the beta version 2.19.60.26 of WhatsApp for iPhone.

Also read: Top Smartphones Launch In India: June 2019

Another change that is reported soon to arrive on WhatsApp is the use of a new media format. The current voice messages and audio filed use a format known as opus. This offers low latency and subpar quality of audio, which will now be replaced with the M4A audio coding format. The new format is reported to offer better quality and support in third-party apps. This feature is only available on iOS as of now. With the latest update, a new pop up prompting users to change their number when they try to delete their account. These features may make their way to the stable update soon.

June 2, 2019